Polar bear populations in Alaska and Canada have declined by nearly half

The bears rely on floating sea ice to mate, travel, and hunt. But thanks to climate change, this ice is melting quickly, forcing polar bears onto land, far away from their typical prey—namely, seals. Without seals to eat, many bears starve to death.

Bill Gates claims to have invested $1bn in renewable technologies

Microsoft founder and billionaire  has called for international Governments to triple R&D funding for renewable technologies in order to find a 'magic solution' to climate change.

Alberta increases province’s carbon levy to $30 in 2017

Alberta government announced plans to increase province’s carbon levy on January 1 from its current $15 per tonne to $20, before a further hike to $30 in 2017. The hikes will coincide with a near doubling of efficiency targets large polluters must meet. Companies will also be required to reduce emissions by 20 per cent over time, compared with a 12-per-cent target today. 

All renewable energy supply for U.S.?

Researchers from Stanford have a plan to get all 50 U.S. states operating on 100% renewable energy by 2050. They think that that's completely possible with existing technology, however it will require huge shift from business as usual for the energy sector.

Imprisonment for violators of new South Africa’s National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation

New regulation was published by Environmental Affairs Minister in the Government Gazette for public comment. It sought to penalize people convicted of an offence in terms of the regulation to a fine up to  R10-million, or prison sentence not exceeding ten years.

Factoring energy efficiency costs into home mortgages in the U.S.

The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, passed in the U.S. this spring, includes provisions to support a program to improve energy efficiency practices in commercial buildings and require federal agencies to utilize energy assessments in their leased buildings. It is expected, that in near time energy efficiency legislation also will be extended to include incentives for federal mortgage underwriters to take into account energy efficiency in the process of valuing homes.

EU is expected to meet 20% renewable energy target by 2020

The European Commission's renewable energy progress report shows that 25 of 28 EU countries are going to meet their 2013/2014 interim renewable energy targets. In 2014, the projected share of renewable energy in the gross final energy consumption is 15.3%.

Climate change costs in Australia are rising fast

Variety of climatic conditions in Australia’s puts it particularly at risk to economic, physical and social loss when it comes to extreme events – droughts, floods, storms and extreme temperatures.

Energy efficiency financing in Europe – governmental vs utility programs

Well known German economist Prof. Dr. Peter Hennicke, who 30 years ago co-authored the book "The Energy Revolution Is Possible", now is concerned about his country’s insufficient progress in energy efficiency, comparing to other EU countries. Germany, the continent's largest user of energy, ranks now 18th in terms of final energy intensity out of 28 E.U. countries. It has been overtaken by number of other European countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France, and dropped down now even below the E.U. average level.

Scientists are not sure if species hybridization, caused by climate change, is good or bad for biodiversity

The phenomena of increased species interbreeding, as a result of climate change impact on the habitat, became a subject of discussions and different points of view among scientists. 

The eastern coyote, for example, is a wolf-coyote hybrid that has expanded its range across the eastern US and Canada. Scientists have discovered that these super-sized coyotes are only about two-thirds coyote.

Why global carbon emissions stalled in 2014 while world economy grew by 3.2%?

According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2015 it happened because of sharp deceleration of global primary energy consumption and strong shift of energy production growth from fossil fuels to renewables.

Renewables offer today better return on investments than fossil fuels

Investors and business leaders got an in-depth look at different ways investors are measuring carbon risk exposure at  ‘Finance and Climate: Metrics’ event during  Climate Week Paris in May. Stranded assets – wasted capital of fossil fuels remaining unburned due to climate impact - is particularly central to carbon risk methodology.

Rainfall rise in the Sahel region of Africa - a rare positive effect of climate change

Study, conducted by scientists from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at Britain's Reading University, states that  continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions was likely to help more rainfall and caused a greening of the Sahel region, south of the Sahara Desert from Senegal to Sudan.

Renewable power can help more than half of rural Pakistanis, who still do not have access to electricity

According to  International Energy Agency, 38 % of all Pakistani population and 54% of the rural population (97 million)    currently have no access to electricity, forcing them to live a sub-standard life of poverty and social inequity. Renewable energy is a potential resource that can be tapped immediately to overcome the current energy crises and warrants energy security.

U.S. renewable energy accounted for 9.8% of total domestic energy consumption in 2014

According to U.S. EIA  this is the highest renewable energy share since the 1930s,. Average annual growth rate for renewables for the last 14 years was quite  impressive - 5%, while wind, solar, and bio-fuels were growth leaders.

The Guardian's snapshot of preparations to the Paris climate summit and its expected outcome

In its publication British newspaper gives overview of upcoming UNFCCC COP-21 answering important questions:
-  What is happening in Paris this December and why now?
- What progress have we seen on a global agreement and why is this important?

China begins power sector reform and focuses on energy efficiency and renewables

In April  Chinese government issued four documents on power sector reform, which  outlined long-awaited upgrades to the functioning of the world's largest power utility. The reforms cover a number of important topics, including:

Climate change may affect coffee lovers

Recent study, published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Journal, predicts severe negative climate change impacts on Arabica coffee production in Africa. The results of  another research, based on global circulation models, suggest  decreased areas suitable for Arabica coffee in America and Asia. 

EIB's investment plan for Europe: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and strategic energy infrastructure projects

The  European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s Board of Directors approved loans with total amount of EUR 8 billion for 21 projects, The projects will also be supported from an EU budget guarantee under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) once it is formally established. The loan package contains support to several sustainable energy projects, including: